Top Democrats and Republicans in the New Hampshire Legislature disagreed Monday on whether Secretary of State William Gardner should use taxpayer funds and state time for his activities as a member of President Donald Trump’s Commission on Election Integrity.

House Democratic Leader Steve Shurtleff asked Gardner to participate on his own time and not use state money. But Republican House Speaker Shawn Jasper and Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley disagreed and said the state should pay for Gardner’s travel to and from -- and participation in -- commission meetings.

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Gardner’s plans for meeting expenses associated with the commission are unclear. He could not be reached for comment Monday, and a staffer in the secretary of state’s office said he would be out of the office for a few days. The staffer said Gardner’s absence was not related to the commission.

Gardner accepted a White House offer to serve on the commission earlier this month. In an interview with WMUR on May 12, he said that while he does not agree with Trump’s assertion that there was widespread voter fraud in New Hampshire, he believes that critics should “give (the commission) a chance.”

In a letter to Gardner released Monday, Shurtleff wrote:

“I am hoping that you will provide the citizens of New Hampshire assurance that no state money is used for your travel or accommodations while you are working in Washington, D.C. on this commission. In addition, I would hope that your state time is not used in the pursuit of your work for the commission.

“As you are well aware, many Democrats and Republicans in New Hampshire believe that there is no validity to President Trump’s claims that there was voter fraud in New Hampshire. Election officials and town clerks throughout the state dispute the claims made by the president. In addition, the integrity of New Hampshire’s first-in-the nation primary is at risk. It is my hope that you will bear this in mind when presenting information or otherwise engaging your time on this commission.”

Shurtleff told WMUR he was “somewhat surprised” that Gardner accepted a position on the commission.

He also questioned the validity of the commission, saying, “There is no historical data to confirm what the president was talking about.”

Shurtleff said Gardner's acceptance of a seat on the commission “was his decision to make, but I wanted to be sure that his involvement will not be at taxpayers’ expense. It’s his choice as long as he is doing it on his own time and at his own expense.”

“He is talking about using state time and state resources when we know that people in all branches of government are on commissions that are working toward the common good, and this is not something that we generally take issue with,” Jasper said.

Jasper said there should be no complaints about “the idea that we might buy him a couple of plane tickets and that he may spend a little bit of time to lend his expertise, with all the money the Legislature spends going to conferences, and I’m not begrudging that.”

“He is the senior secretary of state in the whole country by far and the guardian of our presidential primary,” Jasper said.

“To have a guy like Bill Gardner be able to participate and talk about what is a problem and what isn’t a problem, there are a lot of legitimate questions that need to be answered. To suggest that taxpayer funds shouldn’t be used to solve a problem that addresses concerns of taxpayers is an assertion I don’t agree with.”

“When someone is asked to serve on a presidential commission, it’s an honor for the state, especially when it is an official with the stature that Bill Gardner enjoys, not only in New Hampshire as a protector of the New Hampshire primary, but also nationally,” Bradley said. “I don’t think Bill should be expected to pay for it out of his own pocket.”

WMUR is seeking comment from Senate Democratic Leader Jeff Woodburn.

Critics have charged that the formation of the commission is a political move to give cover to Trump’s unsubstantiated assertions that he lost the popular vote in the November election because “millions” of people vote illegally and he lost New Hampshire in the general election because thousands of Massachusetts residents were “brought in on buses,” also to vote illegally.

Gardner has said that Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the state was untrue, although he has also said there has been at least one voter fraud conviction in New Hampshire in every election since 1992.

Gardner told WMUR that he decided to accept the invitation to serve on the commission because he worries that nationally, voter confidence in elections is low. He pointed to a Gallup poll conducted prior to the November election that found 55 percent of Americans believe voter fraud exists.

To those who say Trump created the panel to find a way to justify his unsubstantiated claims that “millions of people voted illegally” in November, Gardner said, “Give it a chance. Maybe we’ll be able to solve that question of why so many people believe there is voter fraud.”

The 16-member commission, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, has been told to issue a report that identifies laws, policies and practices that enhance public confidence in federal elections, as well as laws, policies and strategies that undermine public confidence.

It will also report on “vulnerabilities in voting systems and practices used for federal elections that could lead to improper voter registrations and improper voting, including fraudulent voter registrations and fraudulent voting.” Trump created the commission by executive order.

Jasper said the commission has a legitimate purpose.

“Any time you have many people who believe that something like this is true, I think it is worth looking at,” Jasper said. “And Secretary Gardner certainly believes that we need to be tightening up our election laws.”

He noted that legislation that would tighten New Hampshire’s voting registration identification requirements, Senate Bill 3, has already passed the state Senate and will be voted on by the full House on June 1.

Bradley said, “Secretary Gardner has testified that about 7,000 letters were sent out to people who didn’t have identification when they voted and 450 of those letters were returned as undeliverable.

“He has made it clear that there are voting issues in New Hampshire, and so I think it is appropriate that he has been asked to serve on the commission.”